Hatches, particularly hatches for boats, are fairly well known devices that allow ingress and egress into and out of enclosed areas, e.g., boat cabins, and/or allow light to enter an enclosed area. Deck hatches are available in many sizes, from small ventilation hatches to larger hatches used as emergency exit points. A ventilation hatch might be as small as 12 inches by 12 inches, where as a typical large hatch intended for persons and objects to pass through might be 20 inches by 20 inches. Hatches generally can comprise assemblies that allow entry, exiting and closure, and can comprise a window portion, a base, a hinge connecting the window portion and the base, and a gasket between the cover and the base to ensure a water-tight seal. Hatches may be installed on boat hulls and decks.
A typical boat can easily incorporate multiple boat hatches. For example, a typical boat hatch can have a dozen or more such boat hatches, with each hatch having a window portion. These boat hatches allow sunlight and its radiant energy to enter the cabin of the boat on which the hatches are used through the window portions of the hatches.
Sunny days are usually the days when a boat owner wants to use his or her boat. Over a short period of time on a sunny day, a large amount of heat can build up in the cabin. Due to the necessity to conserve space, most cabins in boats only have small air conditioning units, if they have any at all. Such air conditioning units can be overwhelmed by the build up of heat caused by sunlight passing through these boat hatches. Further, on days when the boat is not in use, the heat builds with no counter measures taken. This built-up heat and the radiation from the sunlight can cause damage to the interior of the cabin and the items therein. While tinting and UV protection treatment of the window portions of the boat hatches can cut down on the amount of light and energy entering the cabin, heat build-up can still be a problem.
Covers have been developed that are constructed of fabrics and draw strings. The fabric covers are placed over the boat hatches and drawn tight. While these fabric covers can prevent the ingress of sunlight into the cabin of a boat through the boat hatches, these covers are cumbersome to use. They are hard to install and remove from the boat hatches. Installation and removal of these fabric covers is time-consuming. Further, the fabric covers have a tendency to wear out. The fabrics are often made of synthetic yarns that have a tendency to break down over time in the harsh conditions of sunlight and water in which the fabrics are used.
The present subject matter provides fasteners, cover systems and related methods that can be used to hold covers or other items to an object, such as, for example, a cover system for covering a boat hatch.